Hard at Play: Leisure in America, 1840-1940

Sparked by a symposium at the Strong Museum in Rochester, N.Y., this collection of 10 essays by historians and museum directors suggests that leisure is a complicated activity that serves as a window onto society. Glenn Uminowicz profiles the New Jersey resorts Ocean Grove and Asbury Park, products of a turn-of-the-century movement merging recreation with Protestant middle-class morality. Colleen J. Sheehy describes how fishing, originally a means of gathering food for subsistence or sale, became a gentleman's sport and respite from urban life. Shirley Wajda examines the late-19th-century cultural shift toward a more easygoing, relaxed family life as exemplified in the kinds of pictures produced for viewing on parlor stereoscopes. Other essays address rifle games, the description of play in American autobiographies and recreation in the nation's country schools. The book concludes with an entertaining glossary describing outdoor games, including Capture the Flag, The Farmer in the Dell and hopscotch. Though academic and aimed at specialists, these essays frequently offer intriguing insights. Grover edited Dining in America, 1850-1900. Photos. (Aug.)